There is no greater privilege than the ability to wake up every day to fight for Texas and the U.S. Constitution. Just yesterday, I joined patriots from across the country who gathered at the U.S. Capitol to unite in support of securing the border, fixing our broken immigration system, and doing so in a way that respects the rule of law.

In addition, last week I filed legislation to defund Obamacare, voiced my opposition to an attempt to pack the D.C. Circuit court, and issued a call that the Senate continue to play a critical role in advising and consenting to executive nominations, including the newly vacated position of Department of Homeland Security Secretary. Please keep reading below for more and then take a moment to share our latest newsletter with your Facebook friends and Twitter followers.

All the best,

Ted Cruz

GANG OF EIGHT MAKES PROBLEM WORSE

Yesterday afternoon, Sen. Cruz spoke at the Black American Leadership Alliance’s D.C. March for Jobs to address concerns with the Gang of Eight immigration reform bill that would impose a penalty on U.S. employers for hiring American workers and legal immigrants. Sen. Cruz commented that, “One of the most egregious aspects of the Gang of Eight bill is its intersection with Obamacare, which penalizes businesses that hire a U.S. citizen or a legal permanent resident over an illegal immigrant. This is utterly and completely indefensible. This bill will increase unemployment: it will increase African American unemployment, Hispanic unemployment, youth unemployment and even legal immigrant unemployment.”

Sen. Cruz also reiterated his call to fix our broken immigration system, secure our borders now, and to do so in a way that welcomes legal immigrants and upholds the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution.

DEFUND OBAMACARE

Consistent with his long-standing position that no continuing resolution or other appropriations measure should fund Obamacare, Sen. Cruz introduced a bill to permanently defund the law last Thursday. The Defund Obamacare Act of 2013 came as a result of the Obama Administration’s recent announcement to delay the onerous and unpopular employer mandate until after the 2014 election, coupled with its announcement to delay income and health status eligibility requirements in favor of an honor system for the most expensive entitlement for our generation. These recent actions confirm what has been obvious from the start—this law is a colossal mistake.

Sen. Cruz agrees with the lead Senate author of Obamacare, Democrat Senator Max Baucus, that Obamacare has become a “huge train wreck.” President Obama wants to delay the employer mandate – giving large businesses a temporary reprieve from part of Obamacare’s job-killing impact – but he is unwilling to give hardworking American families the same consideration. But everyone, not just large corporations, deserves to be spared being forced to participate in the Obamacare “train wreck.”

We must remain vigilant in making the argument that Obamacare harms economic growth, disrupts the doctor-patient relationship and tramples on our liberties. But it doesn’t end there. We must guarantee that American taxpayers do not spend one more dime to implement Obamacare.

COURT PACKING SHOULD BE DECRIED

In a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, Sen. Cruz rebuked President Obama’s attempt to pack the D.C. Circuit Court because it has been this court that has been holding this Administration accountable and, in particular, holding rulemaking agencies accountable when they have violated federal law.

Sen. Cruz believes there is an activist base that is pressuring the President and senior Senate Democrats, to get judicial nominees on the D.C. Circuit to protect the regulations coming from this Administration. Sen. Cruz commented that, “Any effort to pack the court because the Administration doesn’t like the outcomes of judges applying the law fairly should be decried.” Watch the video and then share it with your friends.

REPLACING THE DHS SECRETARY

On Friday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced her resignation. The announcement coincided with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s bold attempt to silence individual senators and give all power over executive nominations to the White House and the Senate majority by threatening to use the so-called ‘nuclear option.’

At the same time, he silenced the minority by denying them the right to offer amendments to immigration reform on the Senate floor. As a result, the next DHS Secretary will get unchecked discretion over U.S. border security. As the Senate attempts to hand complete control of immigration and border security to President Obama and Harry Reid, the nuclear option would make it possible for the majority to ram through a partisan nominee for Secretary of Homeland Security – who will then oversee border security, immigration, and counter–terrorism policies – with no minority input.

Sen. Cruz hopes the Senate will have a meaningful role in confirming the next DHS Secretary and that the President’s nominee will be dedicated to actually enforcing the law as written, rather than catering to the political agenda of the White House.

I hope you had a restful and reverent Independence Day with your friends and family. The Fourth of July is the quintessential American holiday and provides the perfect opportunity to reflect back on the revolutionary ideas of freedom and unlimited opportunity that inspired our Founding Fathers to break away from England and embark on an improbable journey. As a result, we are truly blessed to live in the most free and exceptional nation in human history.

During last week's state work period, in addition to celebrating the birth of our nation, I had the chance to meet with Texans who were impacted by IRS targeting and speak on the importance of faith and freedom in our nation's history. Last week also marked the six-month anniversary since I took the oath of office and began the extraordinary job of fighting for the Great State of Texas in the United States Senate. I hope you'll keep reading below for more and share this latest newsletter on Facebook and Twitter.

Last Monday, Sen. Cruz joined community leaders across Texas who have been impacted by IRS targeting to call for fundamental tax reform in order to put an end to its abuses. Sen. Cruz reiterated his call to abolish the IRS saying, "After these revelations of political targeting by the IRS, we need to padlock and shut down the building, abolish the IRS, and move to a flat tax or the FAIR Tax."

Sen. Cruz also urged all Texans and Americans who believe they may have been targeted by the IRS to email [email protected] so that instances of abuse may be properly investigated.

DEFENDING FAITH AND FREEDOM

During last week's state work period, Sen. Cruz joined the congregation of First Baptist Dallas to stress the importance of Faith and Freedom in our nation. For thousands of years, people had been told that all power emanated from monarchs, and that our rights were given by whim from kings and queens who could then take them away on that same whim. And the founders of our nation turned that idea upside-down.

In 1776, our Declaration of Independence was signed based on the simple premise that, "We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal" — endowed not by kings, not by queens, not even by a president — "endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Sen. Cruz noted that it is this incredible legacy that gives us the ability to worship free of government interference and gives us the essential religious liberty we must continue to defend. Watch and share the video with your friends.

AN EXPLOSION OF REGULATION

In his most recent "Freedom Minute" segment, Sen. Cruz commented on the explosion of federal regulations that are hammering our economy and preventing entrepreneurs and small businesses from expanding and hiring new workers. He noted that we could do better with a lot less burdensome regulation. Listen to the "Freedom Minute" here and then share it with your friends.

As you prepare for Independence Day, I wanted to send an update on the latest in the Senate. Last week, the Senate passed the Gang of Eight's immigration reform bill, we took a major step toward bringing accountability to federal agencies, and we prevented another attempt to raise the debt ceiling without addressing our addiction to spending.

Please keep reading below for more and then share this newsletter on Facebook and Twitter. I hope you and your family have a safe and happy Fourth of July as we all celebrate the birth of our great nation!

All the best,

Ted Cruz

STAND FOR LIFE

Last Friday, Sen. Cruz addressed the 2013 National Right to Life Conference where he stressed the importance of protecting our nation's most precious resource, our children. Texas and the nation are currently in a battle to defend the unborn. Indeed, just yesterday, the Texas legislature convened a second special session to pass legislation that would defend innocent life. Please take moment to watch Sen. Cruz's remarks here, and then share the video with your friends and encourage them to stand for life.

DEMANDING ACCOUNTABILITY

Earlier last week, Sen. Cruz wrote a letter to Senate Majority Leader Reid and Minority Leader McConnell notifying them of his intent to hold all diplomatic nominations until a State Department Inspector General is nominated by the President. This crucial oversight position has been vacant for nearly five years, during which time there have been deadly attacks on U.S. diplomatic personnel in Libya, mismanagement of security contractors at our embassy in Afghanistan, and hundreds of millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars wasted for police training in Iraq.

On Friday, the White House finally nominated Mr. Steve Linick to fill this role at the State Department. That the President has finally announced a nomination – after allowing this vital post to remain unfilled for nearly 2000 days – is welcome news to all who value good governance and accountability within our federal agencies. Regardless of what brought about the announcement, Sen. Cruz believes it is a concrete step in the right direction and he looks forward to discussing his concerns about the State Department with Mr. Linick in the near future.

PREVENTING PROCEDURAL TRICKS TO RAISE THE DEBT CEILING

On Wednesday, Sen. Cruz once again took to the Senate floor to fight back attempts from several Senators who have requested to proceed to a budget conference that would allow the Senate to raise the debt ceiling with a simple partisan majority rather than the 60-vote threshold that would exist under regular order. Sen. Cruz is committed to ensuring that back-room deals, like those used to pass Obamacare, are not used to dig this nation even further into debt. Watch the video here.

THE SENATE VOTES ON THE GANG OF EIGHT BILL

Thursday afternoon, the Senate voted to pass the Gang of Eight's immigration bill. Sen. Cruz voted against this legislation because unfortunately, all of the concerns that he had repeatedly raised about this bill remained: it repeats the mistakes of the 1986 immigration bill; it grants amnesty first; it won’t secure the border; and it doesn’t fix our broken legal immigration system.

This bill doesn’t solve the problem because the process it went through was fatally flawed– it was written behind closed doors with special interests; in the Judiciary Committee, the Gang of Eight and Democrats blocked all substantive amendments because of a previously cooked deal; and on the Senate floor, the majority blocked any attempts to fix the bill.

Further, in conjunction with Obamacare, the Gang of Eight bill creates a tax penalty on employers – effectively, up to $5,000 – for hiring U.S. citizens or legal immigrants. But that penalty does not apply to those with RPI status, giving a powerful incentive for job creators to hire illegal immigrants instead of U.S. citizens or legal immigrants. Sen. Cruz believes this is indefensible, and he filed an amendment to fix this defect, but was blocked by Senate Democrats from receiving a vote on that solution.

Sadly, this bill fails to fix the problem with our immigration system and will only encourage more illegal immigration and human suffering. Sen. Cruz strongly supports commonsense immigration reform that secures the border before legalization, fixes our legal immigration system, and upholds the rule of law, but bill isn’t it.

After over five months operating out of a temporary office space, I’ve got some exciting news to share with you! Our Washington, D.C., office has just completed its move into our permanent office space in suite 185 in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. If you come to Washington, please feel free to visit.

In addition, it was a busy week in the Senate marking up the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), defending the religious liberties of our servicemen and women, promoting a freer Iran, and stopping continuous attempts to raise the debt ceiling with a simple partisan majority. I hope you’ll take the time to keep reading and then share this update on Facebook and Twitter.

All the best,

Ted Cruz

WE’VE MOVED!

Up until last week, Sen. Cruz’s office was located in temporary office space in the basement of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. If you would like to visit Sen. Cruz’s Washington, D.C., office, please take note that the office has relocated to suite 185 in the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

DEFENDING THE INTEGRITY OF ELECTIONS

Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc. that the federal “Motor Voter” law (the National Voter Registration Act of 1993) preempted Arizona’s commonsense requirement that a person must present concrete evidence of citizenship before they are allowed to register to vote.

Since the right to vote is a fundamental building block of our nation’s democratic process and it is crucial that we have the measures in place to uphold the integrity of our elections, Sens. Cruz and David Vitter (R-LA) filed an amendment to S. 744, the Senate Immigration Reform Bill, that would close the loophole in the “Motor Voter” law that preempts states from enforcing requirements that would ensure those registered to vote are U.S. citizens. Read more about the amendment here and then share it with your friends.

MARKUP OF THE 2014 NDAA

Last week, Sen. Cruz participated in the Senate Armed Services Committee’s markup of the 2014 NDAA. He introduced amendments that were adopted by the committee, that if passed by the full Senate would: protect the religious freedoms of servicemen and women, require the Pentagon to prioritize domestic military bases over foreign bases during any potential future Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, expand free and fair competition for military contracts, and enhance U.S. missile defense capabilities to protect all Americans.

Ultimately, Sen. Cruz voted against the committee’s final bill, citing its failure to address the defense sequester and a provision which allows for the indefinite detention of American citizens without trial saying, “I was not able to in good conscience vote for the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act in committee. The language of the 2012 NDAA, carried over into the 2014 bill, represents an intolerable infringement of the Constitutional rights of American citizens. Nothing in the Constitution allows the indefinite detention of U.S. citizens on U.S. soil, and yet this bill perpetuates that purported authority. We must protect the Due Process rights of every American.”

ENDING IRANIAN PERSECUTION

On Thursday, Sen. Cruz addressed the Senate floor to draw attention to the Iranian elections. He expressed concerns about the ongoing suppression of the Iranian people by its government and Iran’s efforts to expand its influence in the region, particularly through its pursuit of nuclear capabilities.

Sen. Cruz also spoke on the fact that the people of Iran were heading to the polls to make a false choice; forced to select not the candidate of their choice, but from those chosen for them by the nation’s Supreme Leader, who will surely continue his policies of political and religious oppression.

Sen. Cruz called for all Americans to join in “urging the regime in Iran to tear down the walls of political and religious persecution, to relieve the pain of unnecessary economic hardship, and to renounce the isolation caused by Tehran’s aggressive and belligerent policies,” in addition to reiterating his call for the release of the Iranian-American pastor Saeed Abedini. Watch and share Sen. Cruz’s floor speech.

PREVENTING TRICKS TO RAISE THE DEBT CEILING

On Wednesday, Sen. Cruz joined Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) in continuing to fight back against attempts to proceed to a budget conference that would allow the Senate to raise the debt ceiling with a simple partisan majority rather than the 60-vote threshold that would exist under regular order. Watch and share the discussion.

Under the Gang of Eight bill, employers will be penalized with a $5,000 fine for hiring U.S. citizens. We need your immediate help to stop this amnesty bill in the Senate — and importantly, in case it passes, to keep pressure on the House.

Last week was eventful in our nation’s battle to reform immigration. The current proposal before the Senate has serious problems, and unfortunately, I believe it would simply be a repeat of the 1986 amnesty where we were promised border security for legalization. But the border security never came.

Our immigration system is broken. It is critical that we fix it, secure the border, respect the rule of law, and remain a nation that not only welcomes, but also celebrates legal immigrants. Please keep reading for more details and then share this newsletter with your Facebook friends and Twitter followers.

All the best,

Ted Cruz

STOPPING THE AMNESTY TAX

Yesterday, Sen. Cruz addressed the Senate floor to expose a component of the Gang of Eight Bill that establishes a penalty for hiring citizens and legal immigrants over immigrants granted Registered Provisional Immigrant (RPI) status under this legislation.

He asked for unanimous consent to introduce an amendment that would fix this issue by defunding Obamacare until there are no more individuals with RPI status. But the Senate Democrat majority blocked his request. Watch and share video of the Senator’s floor remarks.

WILL THE IMMIGRATION BILL BE THE NEXT OBAMACARE?

On Monday, Sen. Cruz addressed the Senate floor to contrast the border measures in the Corker-Hoeven amendment to a border security amendment he filed last week, citing areas where the Corker-Hoeven amendment to S.744 fails to adequately secure the border before legalization of illegal immigrants begins. Sen. Cruz is deeply troubled by the way this bill has progressed through the Senate — eerily reminiscent of the way Obamacare was passed.

The point Sen. Cruz made was very simple: “What is the rush?” Just as with Obamacare, we are told that we have to pass the bill to find out what is in it. The American people deserve adequate time to study and understand what is in the bill. Unfortunately, it appears this bill is about providing political cover rather than actually fixing our nation’s broken immigration system or finally securing our border.

As a preview to the vote to end debate on the Corker-Hoeven amendment, Sen. Cruz wrote in RedState to outline the many problems with the proposal, including: it grants immediate amnesty with an empty promise of border security, it provides no real border security at all, it weakens border fencing problems, it avoids any metric for measuring true border security, and more. Read and share it here.

ATTEMPTS TO IMPROVE THE IMMIGRATION BILL

Last Wednesday, Sen. Cruz took to the Senate floor to critique the Gang of Eight’s immigration deal. Sen. Cruz noted that the Gang of Eight deal fails to meaningfully secure our border and would lead to a repeat of the 1986 amnesty in which the American people were promised illegal immigration would be stopped in exchange for granting amnesty to some three million people living in the United States illegally. The amnesty happened, but unfortunately, the border security never did. We can’t afford to do that again.

In response, Sen. Cruz introduced several amendments to the immigration bill to significantly improve border security measures, fix our immigration system in a manner that champions legal immigration, and uphold the rule of law by ensuring illegal immigrants granted legal status under this bill are not given a path to citizenship.

Sen. Cruz will continue to fight to pass commonsense immigration reform, but he fears that if this bill becomes law as it is currently written, it will not solve the problem, but instead make the problem of illegal immigration worse.

CONCERNS OVER SYRIA

On Thursday, Sen. Cruz addressed the Senate floor to voice his concerns about U.S. plans to supply arms to Syrian rebel groups and criticize the Obama Administration’s failure to engage at the beginning of the uprising, when peaceful protestors could have used the vocal, energetic support of the United States. Because of that failure, the U.S. has since lost its opportunity to have meaningful influence over the situation in a manner that would serve our nation’s best interest.

Now the situation in Syria is very serious — 93,000 are dead, millions have been displaced and the government has used chemical weapons on its own people, and the most effective, organized rebels are loyal to al Qaida. Sen. Cruz believes the U.S. should not provide arms to groups that are loyal to our enemies, but we should develop a clear, practical plan to go in, locate the weapons which have become a grave national security threat, secure or destroy them, and then get out.

On Monday at 5:30pm, the United States Senate will vote on the most sweeping immigration reform proposal it has considered in almost 3 decades – and it will do so having only seen the nearly 1200 pages of text for approximately 72 hours. Americans – including myself, my fellow senators and our staffs – are still trying to figure out exactly what is in the new Schumer-Corker-Hoeven “deal.”

Sound familiar? Pass it to find out what’s in it? Reminiscent of Obamacare, the lengthy amendment to replace the Gang of 8’s original bill was crafted behind closed doors and introduced late on Friday, after many members had left town. In the 2007 immigration debate, close to 50 amendments were considered. But this year, we have only debated 9 – with some of us being completely shut out.

Given only a weekend to review the language, we will now vote on whether to end a debate that never really began. To be clear – this is not a difficult vote. On process alone, we should all vote “no.“ This was by design – the President, Harry Reid and the Gang of 8 preferred all along to ram through a “deal,” and not have a real debate – just like Obamacare. Worse, just like Obamacare, the “deal” involved lots of horse-trading and buying off of votes at the last minute – a display of everything that is wrong with Washington, and one of the things I specifically campaigned against.

But, on substance – the vote is even easier. There are too many troubling provisions of the bill to list, such as de facto affirmative action hiring for current illegal immigrants due to Obamacare and huge amounts of discretion for the DHS Secretary to waive deportation and inadmissibility. And for all the talk, the new Schumer-Corker-Hoeven “deal” is nothing new at all. It’s the same amnesty-before-false-promise-of-security of the Gang of 8 and the bills of debates past.

Here’s what we know that the bill does:

Grants Immediate Amnesty with Empty Promise of Border Security

Although we are told that it fixes border security, the Schumer-Corker-Hoeven amendment maintains the Gang of 8’s flawed framework of guaranteed and immediate legalization, followed by an empty promise of eventual border security. This structure repeats the mistakes of the 1986 amnesty, which, as noted by former Attorney General Edwin Meese, is precisely the same as this “deal,” and only encourages more illegal immigration.

The Schumer-Corker-Hoeven compromise demonstrates that Congress is not serious about meaningful border security. The first amendment considered by the full Senate in this debate, offered by Senator Grassley, would have required effective control of the border for six months before legalization. Democrats and the Gang of 8 refused to even consider the merits of that proposal, voting to table it without real consideration. The Senate then rejected five additional amendments that would have enhanced border security, including completion of additional border fencing and implementation of the biometric entry/exit US-VISIT system required by current law, both before legalization.

Provides No Real Border Security at All

Now, the same proponents who led the charge against those amendments say, “Trust us.” A closer look at their border security plan, however, reveals gaping holes. Most notably, the amendment’s security enhancements are not contemplated until almost ten years after the bill’s enactment; none would be in place before amnesty. Moreover, the signature “border surge” that would double the Border Patrol does not require that a single new agent be added before amnesty is granted just six months after the bill becomes law.

Weakens Fencing Requirement

Regarding a southern border fence, Schumer-Corker-Hoeven provides for only single-layer fencing, instead of the double-layer fencing that was required under the Secure Fence Act of 2006. It leaves in place the Department of Homeland Security’s asserted discretion to decide whether and where double-layered fencing is appropriate and leaves open the possibility that no fencing may be built at all. As a result, the United States is simply unprepared to deal with the influx of immigrants who will seek to enter this country illegally in pursuit of a path to U.S. citizenship during the two-and-a-half year amnesty period, when deportations and enforcement are virtually halted.

Weakens Current Law on Entry-Exit System

Schumer-Corker-Hoeven also weakens current law with respect to an entry/exit system, requiring only biographic — rather than biometric — identification.

Current law requires implementation of a biometric entry/exit system (called US-VISIT) – that is, a system that checks individuals’ biological characteristics, such as a fingerprint. But this biometric system has never been setup. Rather than enforce this current law, Schumer-Corker-Hoeven weakens it by requiring ports to use only a biographic entry/exit system – a system that checks only non-biological characteristics, like an individual’s name or date of birth. It is much easier to falsify biographic information, which is precisely why current law requires a biometric system.

Avoids any Metric for Measuring True Border Security

It also drops the current requirement that 100% of the border be under operational control (the ability to detect and respond to all cross-border illegal activity), adopting instead the Gang of 8’s flawed “effectiveness rate” metric to measure success. The “effectiveness rate” metric is based on subjective estimates of the number of illegal border crossing, so it does not provide an accurate measure of whether the border is secure.

Assumes Future Significant Illegal Entry

By its own terms, the Schumer-Corker-Hoeven amendment recognizes that illegal immigration will remain a problem in the future. It mandates that as many as 1,000 distress beacons be placed in areas along the border where deaths are known to occur. It also directs the enhancement of “training, resources, and professionalism” for border officials in Mexico and Central American countries, as well as an educational campaign about the perils of the journey to the United States, for nationals of those countries.

Fails to Measure Up to Alternatives

A number of my colleagues have offered, or are ready to offer, far superior approaches. For example, besides the Grassley Amendment I already noted, Senator Thune offered an amendment to require additional border fencing before legalization, and Senator Vitter offered an amendment to require implementation of the US-VISIT biometric entry/exist system before legalization. Both were rejected.

In addition, I offered but have been refused a vote on, a simple, five-page amendment that stands in stark contrast to the mess created by Schumer-Corker-Hoeven and avoids the mistakes of the 1986 amnesty by ensuring a truly secure border before legalization is granted. My amendment would: triple the Border Patrol; quadruple equipment and assets to monitor the border; complete all fencing required by the Secure Fence Act of 2006; fully implement US-VISIT; and establish operational control over 100 percent of the southern border. In addition, it would require that these things be completed or a portion of DHS’s budget would be block-granted to states for border security. Finally, it would pay for border security by offsets against federal spending rather than taxes and deficits. This clear plan leaves Americans no doubt about what to expect and, most importantly, ensures that we put a stop to illegal immigration.

Requires American People to Stand up and say No

Of course, Americans will not get this kind of real security if they do not demand it. Sponsors would have us believe that as many as 70 of my colleagues will support the Gang of 8 bill, as amended by Schumer-Corker-Hoeven. Rarely do we see so transparently how votes in the Senate are bought and sold, but the laundry list of buyoffs in this deal details plainly the path to amnesty. The last-minute introduction and overwhelming page count are by design, and this exercise has become more about politics than principle. This is Washington at its worst, and America deserves better. The proponents of this bill are squandering an opportunity to fix our legal immigration system responsibly and finally secure our borders. Instead, they are jamming through amnesty that undermines the rule of law and harms those who will desperately seek it.

The Schumer/Hoeven/Corker amendment is nearly 1,200 pages long, was just filed Friday afternoon, and will be voted on this Monday. We saw with Obamacare what happens when Congress rushes to pass such unwieldy legislation.

The Schumer/Hoeven/Corker “border security” amendment to the deal doesn’t require that the border actually be secured, nor does it require any security enhancements before legalization occurs.

This legislation makes the same mistake of the 1986 amnesty — legalization today for the false promise of border security tomorrow. It will encourage more illegal immigration and must be stopped.

It has been a difficult week for public trust in government. More details continue to emerge about the National Security Agency's intrusive surveillance of American citizens, the President made a troubling nomination for Ambassador to the United Nations, and the Senate continues to push forward with a problematic immigration bill that was put together using backroom deals.

In addition, the Senate voted on the Farm Bill, and I had an opportunity to go on the air to discuss abolishing the IRS, defending the Bill of Rights, and more. Please keep reading below to learn more and then share this newsletter with your friends on Facebook and Twitter.

All the best,

Ted Cruz

THE SENATE PASSES THE FARM BILL

Yesterday evening, the Senate voted to pass the Farm Bill. While agriculture forms the backbone of the Texas economy and is an integral part of our proud heritage, as it is for the rest of the nation, the current farm bill gives far less attention to the needs of farmers than it does to politicians and special interests.

Sen. Cruz is disappointed that Washington's cynical politics have again trumped any real reform. This farm bill costs 60 percent more than the 2008 bill and nearly 80 percent of it is comprised of food stamps. It fails to provide a true safety net for difficult years, fails to fully target assistance to those most in need, and fails to prioritize farm aid over duplicative programs, subsidizing unrelated programs from green energy to housing.

It is important to address the true needs of American farmers, but the bill considered by the Senate does much more harm than good. For that reason, Sen. Cruz voted against it and hopes the House will include needed reforms that the Senate omitted in its flawed consideration of this important issue.

BALANCING LIBERTY WITH SECURITY

While details continue to emerge on the NSA's gathering of private phone records and invasive surveillance, Sen. Cruz released a statement on the President's call to trust that there is a system of checks and balances to prevent abuses of power. We have discovered over the past few months an ongoing pattern of disregard not only for Americans' privacy, but for the truth — the Department of Justice's (DOJ) refusal to be forthcoming about drone policy, the IRS targeting groups for their political beliefs and then misleading the American people about it, the DOJ's targeting of journalists for doing their jobs, and now what seems an unprecedented intrusion into Americans' personal phone records and potentially their broader online activities.

Trust in government to respect the Bill of Rights has been broken, and the only way to earn it back is to tell the truth. Sen. Cruz believes that is what Americans deserve and he will continue to work with his colleagues in the Senate to ensure they have all the facts about these surveillance programs, and that our government is appropriately balancing concerns of national security with personal liberties.

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S NOMINATION FOR U.N. AMBASSADOR

On Wednesday, President Obama nominated Samantha Power to be the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Sen. Cruz believes this nomination is deeply troubling because Ms. Power has publicly embraced the need for America to apologize to the world for perceived transgressions, even going so far as to explicitly urge "instituting a doctrine of the mea culpa." Ms. Power has strongly supported the expansion of international institutions and international law and has also publicly stated, "We have to believe in international law and binding ourselves to international standards in the interest of getting others bound to those standards."

Sen. Cruz stressed that "America needs a U.N. Ambassador to be an advocate for our own interests at the U.N.–not an advocate of elevating U.N. interests over U.S. sovereignty and the rights of the American people."

PROMOTING COMMON SENSE IMMIGRATION REFORM

Last Tuesday, Sen. Cruz joined with Sens. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) in sending a letter to their Senate colleagues that highlights numerous concerns with the Gang of Eight's immigration reform bill. In the letter, they noted the numerous opportunities the Senate Judiciary Committee had to improve the bill during the markup process, yet the committee failed to enact any of them. They also criticized the backroom deal that was struck by the Gang of Eight and Democrats on the Judiciary Committee prior to the markup, which prevented any meaningful improvements to the bill.

The Senators pointed to several areas of concern in the current bill that must be addressed on the Senate floor in order to pass effective legislation, including:

Provides immediate legalization without securing the border

Rewards criminal aliens, absconders, and deportees and undermines law enforcement

Contains extremely dangerous national security loopholes

Facilitates fraud in our immigration system

Creates no real penalties for illegal immigrants and rewards them with entitlements

Delays for years the implementation of E-Verify

Does not fix our legal immigration system

Advanced through a process predicated on a deal struck before markup

Rewards those who have broken our laws by offering a special path to citizenship

Last week, Sen. Cruz took to the airwaves to discuss the latest in the fight to abolish the IRS, defend the Bill of Rights, the nomination of Susan Power to be the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and more. You can listen to the segments below:

Over the past several weeks, troubling details have come to light about what appears to be a pattern of the Obama Administration using the machinery of government to target political enemies. Such tactics are wrong, and they are a manifestation of too much power in the federal government.

During the recess last week, I took to the airwaves to discuss what we can do to drastically reduce the size and scope of government power and ensure that these abuses never happen again. I hope you will keep reading below to find out how we can fight back and then share the news on Facebook and Twitter.

All the best,

Ted Cruz

ABOLISH THE IRS

In recent weeks, we have seen that the IRS has not honored its trust with the American people. In response to concerns that the administration has been using government agencies, including the IRS, to target political enemies, Sen. Cruz sat down with Eric Bolling of Fox Business to talk about his fight to abolish the IRS and move to a simple flat tax or the FAIR Tax. Watch and share the discussion here.

ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER NEEDS TO RESIGN

On Thursday, Sen. Cruz joined Megyn Kelly to discuss the congressional investigation into the Department of Justice's handling of potential criminal prosecution of journalists. Sen. Cruz reiterated that the President should ask the Attorney General for his resignation because this Department of Justice has demonstrated a willingness to disregard the law going back to the Fast and Furious scandal and up to the current investigations before Congress. See Sen. Cruz's full interview here.

DEFENDING LIBERTY WITH WATCHMEN ON THE WALL

Recently, Sen. Cruz addressed the Family Research Council's Watchmen on the Wall briefing on the assault on religious liberty in our nation. In his address, Sen. Cruz discussed his work as Texas Solicitor General in defense of the Ten Commandments monument that stands on the Texas State Capitol grounds, the words "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, the Mojave Veterans Memorial Cross, the right of volunteers at funerals of veterans to say "God bless you" to grieving families, as well as a number of the current fights to defend religious liberty. To hear more, please view the video of Sen. Cruz's speech.

ON THE AIR WITH JON-DAVID WELLS

On Friday, Sen. Cruz joined radio host Jon-David Wells to discuss the Obama Administration's record on the Bill of Rights. In recent weeks, we've seen the First Amendment undermined by the Department of Justice targeting the press and potential restrictions on the ability of our servicemen and women to share their faith. The administration has tried to weaken the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. There are questions about this administration's drone policy that may violate the Fourth and Fifth Amendments. Sen. Cruz mentioned that there appears to be a pattern of disregard for constitutional rights that is troubling. Listen to the entire interview here.